~ A site for my creative writing endeavors, writing prompt responses, and experimentation.

Concealed Carry

They seem like normal people. Some are ex-classmates from high school and college. Some are former colleagues. Some are merely people overheard on the train or the street. On the surface they are you or me or neighbors or co-workers. But deep inside, sometimes, concealed, they carry horrors waiting for a chance to emerge.

They take their children to school, are active in their house of worship, volunteer as coaches or librarians or at homeless shelters. They love their families, their friends, their like-minded circles. And yet a hatred lies just beneath their skin.

They laugh and play and throw backyard birthday bashes for their preschoolers…or barbecue with beers and bratwurst with their buddies…or scream in joy as their alma mater scores the winning touchdown or lofts a three-pointer in the final four. But they seethe when they watch the news during this election season.

They seem like normal people. But then they commit unfathomable acts of violence, of bigotry, of misogyny, of brutality, of dishonesty, of irreligiosity. Superficially benign; deeply malignant. A benevolent surface conceals a metastasizing evil.